For Angelo(30)

And then he was getting into bed with her, and Lane’s heart jumped to her throat.

Angelo pulled her to him, his hot, hard chest pressing against her back. The strength and power in his body was almost tangible, making her feel feminine and alive. His scent, an irresistible mix of something sensual and elegant – like chocolate and moonlight – surrounded her.

It was exciting, comforting, terrifying, and beautiful.

She wished this moment would never end.

“Thank you,” she blurted out in the darkness.

His arms tightened around her. “Go to sleep.” His voice was gruff but she didn’t mind, not when she could feel him smiling against her hair.

Her eyes drifted closed.

“Thank you again.”

“You don’t have to thank me, tesoro.”

“I do.”

“No, you don’t.” Before she could ask, he said silkily, “Because I’ll punish you for this, too.”

Her eyes flew open. “P-punish?”

“For making me do this.”

“Sleep?” she gasped incredulously.

“For forcing me to go to bed with my clothes on—” Angelo’s chagrin was evident in his voice as he finished, “—with a girl I want to fuck.”

“Oh.”

“I can hear you thinking.”

“I’m not.”

“It’s probably a masochistic thought, too.”

She twisted and cringed because he was right.

Angelo sighed. “Go on. You probably won’t let me sleep until you ask whatever it is you want to ask.”

She blurted out, “Am I the first?”

“No.”

Her heart writhed.

“There was only one other.”

More pain pinched her heart. “The girl you told me about before?”

Instead of answering her, he said, “You’re unbelievably masochistic.”

She turned red.

“But I have to say, it’s effective.”

She blinked in confusion, asking, “Effective at what?”

“Arousing me.”

“Angelo!”

Grinning, Angelo pulled her more tightly against him and simultaneously pressed himself harder against her. She stiffened and audibly caught her breath, and Angelo chuckled, knowing she had felt his arousal.

“Just focus on that, tesoro, and stop thinking about the past, and go to sleep.”

And eventually, she did, but unfortunately the same wise words did not work on him.

Angelo lay awake, Lane’s soft, voluptuous body making it one of the longest nights of his life. But more than that, he thought about what he had warned her against.

He thought of the past, and now, whether he liked it or not, the past and present were once again intertwined.

He had thought he would never allow anyone like Jaike enter his life.

And yet here he was, doing the one thing he had sworn he would never do again.

He was picking up the pieces that someone else broke, and he couldn’t help feeling, believing, that one day, when all the pieces of her were back together—

She would leave him.

Just like Jaike had.





****





Angelo left Lane’s bed at the crack of dawn, moving silently and carefully so he wouldn’t wake her up accidentally. After a quick shower and breakfast, he provided instructions for his staff, ensuring that last night’s incident would not be repeated.

Before leaving for his meeting, he headed back up, wanting to check on Lane. His phone vibrated in his pocket on his way to her room, and when he saw who it was, Angelo became still.

He answered it after several rings, saying simply, “Jaike.”

“Hey. Angelo.” Her voice was the same sweet melodious sound he remembered, but unlike before, all it did now was resurrect the most painfully bittersweet memories.

There was a long pause, and her unease was evident even over the phone.

Finally, she said, “I’m sorry for calling you out of the blue.”

“I don’t mind.” Angelo surprised himself by managing to speak levelly.

“Ever since I found out you accepted the mentorship in CU, I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

He heard himself say, “I hope that drove your husband crazy.” Because that was what she was now. A woman married to the only man who owned her body and soul, even when she had been wearing Angelo’s ring.

Jaike chuckled. “Yes. It did.”

“Good.”

And then it became awkward again.

Suddenly, she said, “We haven’t talked for years.” Her breath hitched. “Since I left your house. You r-remember?”

“Err…yes. I remember.” A humorless laugh escaped him. Was she fucking kidding? Did she really think he would forget? She might think that he had not loved her the way he should, but he had loved her the only way he knew how.